Flu and cold relief tablets or tough it out? 🤧🤧

Callistemon21

Rubbing Vick on your feet then wearing socks to bed apparently works too.

My mum, a midwife, always recommended this for babies. Seemed to work on my four

Rubbing Vick on your feet then wearing socks to bed apparently works too.

I agree with sago decongestants will dry up the mucus,and as another poster has said phenylephrine shouldnt be taken with bp meds.
Havi g wirked in pharmacy for around 25 years I am reluctant to take anything but paracetamol if I really have to, but I find vick rubbed behind ears on throat and chest is helpful,and comforting.

Ro60

For sore throats I find Jackmans cough sweets in the black bag work better than strepsils for me.

I bought some Jakemans when I was at Boots buying some Bronchostop and I find them very soothing. I had to take something because I was getting stress incontinence from all the coughing ( which was wearing me out). I tend to get a post nasal drip after a cold so I bought a saline nasal spray which works a bit like a neti pot. I tried using my neti pot but couldn’t get it to work properly. And I used my Beconase nasal spray which helped stop the post nasal drip. I worked it out on a calendar yesterday ( which was the first day I’d felt ok)) and it had taken 3 1/2 weeks to get to that stage. I do wonder if the First Defence nasal spray would have shortened that time. I think if you cant stay at home and relax Boots cold and flu sachets help you function normally. At one stage I really wished I had an asthma inhaler just to use for a couple of days because the coughing was exhausting me. I also put Vicks on the soles of my feet as that’s very soothing. I noticed that they still sell Beechams Powders at Boots. Now that’s a blast from the past.

I always feel so much better after a good nights sleep, and Night Nurse is the best thing for that, it’s magic stuff.

A personal trainer here was against taking anything - and in favour of battling through. He ended up in hospital on a heart monitor. An exasperated doctor said there's three important things, when you have a virus:

If you have a temperature, take paracetamol.

Have plenty of fluids.

Rest - do not exercise - just rest!

I just don't get ill (fingers crossed, though) but a sibling with asthma can't use decongestants and says that honey and lemon is the best.

Every night we knock up a drink in the Nutribullet consisting of 3 lemons, a stick of peeled ginger, 1 tbsp of honey and 1 tsp of cinnamon (2 drinks). Seems to keep the coughs and colds at bay pretty much.

A fortnight if you treat it

And two weeks if you don’t……..

Honey and lemon in hot water is soothing.

I don't think pain relief prolongs the recovery time but I wonder whether decongestants do.

Take plenty of fluids, keep warm and take paracetamol.

A virus will run its course and I hope you feel better soon.

Lemon and honey, chicken soup and paracetamol here for the most part, and tissues with balsam in them.
I do take a 'drying up' capsule if there's an event I really can't avoid. I find that I end up with a cough if I take them so it has to be a really important event!
Hope you feel better soon.

Early nights and wait for it to go away on its own. If a headache is involved then I’ll take paracetamol. I take enough prescribed medicine and don’t really want to take any more.

Paracetamol for me and I always have Echinacea drops that I put in a drink.
I swear by it.

I take paracetamol, drink warm Ribena and have Lockets for my throat if it's dry.

Honey and lemon in warm water, with a paracetamol. It's just as good as a bought remedy. The virus will run its course though. I once read that 'a cold lasts 7 days if you don't treat it, and a week if you do.'

Same here JaxJacky. I find hot Vimto with a spoonful of honey very soothing, Heinz tomato soup is my favourite comfort food.

For sore throats I find Jackmans cough sweets in the black bag work better than strepsils for me.

I used to be ‘agin’ using that kind of meds for a cold but after having caught some beezers from my GC, I’m now a firm fan of drying up medications. Ime, if a cold is bad enough to warrant using them, it doesn’t dry it up totally, it just reduces the amount, and if a running/blocked nose stops you sleeping at night, it’s worth taking them to get some rest.

The addition of whisky to lemon and honey is to be recommended, though don’t do what I once did. I had a hot toddy after taking a dose of Night Nurse and didn’t wake up until 3pm the next day! 👀

We usually use Day and Night Nurse, and/or Benylin at night for awful coughs.

I’m certainly not aware of any such meds helping to prolong the infection.
During the recent horrible bug I had, I also got through enough hot Ribena/hot honey and lemon to float a battleship!

The lemon and honey treatment is even better with a tot of whisky in it. Hope it's over soon, maw.

I can’t take a lot of the OTC medicines as they have phenylephrine in them (not advised if you take bp medication). So it’s lemon, honey and paracetamol.

I always cut up couple fresh lemons , put in small pan of boiling water , simmer for few minutes while squeezing out all the juices , then strain into a clean glass along with with spoonful of honey , add small tot of whisky , sip that along with a couple paracetamols . It doesn’t make it go away but makes the symptoms much easier to bear .

I think you’ve nailed it Sago -all those OTC remedies may make you feel better but I had long suspected “drying everything up” is only temporary and when you stop, the symptoms just return. There must be a reason we sneeze and our noses run, presumably our body’s reaction to the virus.
So it’s the hot drinks and paracetamol for me.
Homemade chicken soup has long been a favourite- ill or not!

These OTC medicines are the work of the devil, they dry up everything!
Lots of fluids, some homemade soup with chicken stock (Jewish Penicillin)
I take Zincovit, it’s easily available, zinc lozenges are good for sore throats.
Paracetamol every 4 hours and rest.
It’s horrible, I hope you feel better soon.